He said he stopped on the RiverWalk to pose for a picture with a girl who recognized him from the social media website Instagram.

Howard, an aspiring hair stylist, said he’s well-known on social media and goes by the name Chong Lee.

“She wanted to take a picture with me. As we were posing for the picture this guy started saying, ‘Look at this (slur).’ I knew he was talking to me and I just tried to ignore it and not think about it. After that, that’s when he started to walk behind me.”

Howard said the man continued to linger around him and yelled more slurs.

“He stood behind me and said, ‘This (gay slur) with the long hair, you think you have a right to wear long hair?’ ” Howard said.

He said that’s when at least five more men approached and surrounded him.

“I said, ‘Are y’all going to jump me?’ and I started to get ready to fight.”

A video posted on YouTube on Monday shows the men punching and kicking Howard for nearly a minute before running away. Howard can be seen trying to defend himself by punching back.

Howard said no one came to his aid and he isn’t sure who recorded the video. He said he suffered a fractured finger, damage to his left eye and several bruises on his face and back.

Howard said he has gone to the festival numerous times before and always felt safe, but now he doubts he’ll go again.

“It scared me,” he said. “Now every time I see a group of guys I get that same feeling that I’m about to be bashed or they’re about to say something. I feel like I have quick flashbacks and just jump a little bit.”

Howard said he was interviewed by police Tuesday and he’s hopeful they will find the men responsible for the beating. His mother, Tammara Howard, said she is outraged that this happened.

“They were down there to just be a problem,” she said. “For them to be harassing my son, jumping on my child, that’s a big pill to swallow. I want them to get caught and I want justice to be served and I know it will. My son has a right to live his life like anyone else, if he’s gay that’s his own business. Those young men need to go to jail.”

Howard said he has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. A hashtag, #justiceforchonglee, has been started on his behalf. He said he hopes what happens to him will bring the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities together.

“Gays need to stick together when it comes to people bashing us,” he said.

“Violence directed at LGBT people because they are LGBT is disproportionately high in this country, and LGBT people of color are at an even higher risk of more brutal and vicious attacks. It never ceases to amaze me that others are so concerned with how we live our lives that they feel emboldened to violently attack us for simply being ourselves. Our elected officials can send a powerful message that this type of hate is not tolerated in Michigan by speaking out against attacks like these and amending Michigan’s hate crimes law to include LGBT victims.”

Equality Michigan also released a statement from Motor City Pride chair David Wait, who said he was troubled to hear about the attack: “We are already taking steps to work with the Detroit Police Department to review and revise our safety and security plans for next year.”